Actors Park Won-sang, left, and Yoon Joo-sang, center, in a scene from "The Land of Morning Calm" / Courtesy of Triple Pictures

In the late 19th century, Westerners coined the phrase "The Land of the Morning Calm" to describe Korea's 1392-1910 Joseon Kingdom, portraying it as a tranquil but stagnant society. Director Park Ri-woong, while filming his new movie "The Land of Morning Calm," noted that the atmosphere in Korea's fishing villages today evokes a similar sense of quiet and inertia, reflecting those long-ago perceptions in an unexpected, modern way.

"The Korean title of the movie, 'The Morning Sea Gull Is,' is the first line of the nursery rhyme 'Sea.' The English title is 'The Land of Morning Calm,' which was written by a French writer when Joseon was introduced to Europe and I decided on the English title because I thought that a country that was so tranquil had gone through ups and downs and now it's literally a deserted country," the director said at a press conference, Tuesday.

Park, who left a strong impression on movie fans with his 2022 film "The Girl on a Bulldozer," turns his focus to the struggles of a desolate fishing village in his latest feature, offering a raw look into the lives of its residents.

In this film, the young fisherman Yong-soo (played by Park Jong-hwan) grows weary of his monotonous life and hatches a desperate plan. He decides to stage his own death by drowning to claim life insurance, intending to escape to Vietnam, his wife's homeland. He dreams of a fresh start there, taking along his wife and his elderly mother (portrayed by Yang Hee-kyung).

Only an old captain (Yoon Joo-sang) knows of this absurd plan and helps with the staged death, but unexpected events continue to occur, derailing the young fisherman's plan.

In "The Land of Morning Calm," the serene visuals of the fishing village, with residents tirelessly casting their nets against the deep blue sea, contrast starkly with the underlying struggles the film reveals. Throughout its two-hour runtime, it peels back layers of hardship and despair, painting a raw portrait of life in these coastal communities where dreams are often at odds with grim realities.

The film unflinchingly portrays the lives of Vietnamese women married to local fishermen, who face isolation and struggle for acceptance within the tight-knit community. It also highlights the struggles of aging residents, whose quality of life diminishes amid a shrinking, stagnant population, underscoring the village's slow decline and the challenges born from its resistance to change.

By shedding light on the often-overlooked realities of life in Korean fishing villages, this film garnered considerable attention at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in October. It received three awards: the prestigious New Currents Award, the KB New Currents Audience Award, and the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award.

Director Park Ri-woong, left, speaks during a press conference for the upcoming film, "The Land of Morning Calm," at a theater in Seoul, Tuesday. Actors Yoon Joo-sang, center, and Yang Hee-kyung are seated next to the director. Korea Times photo by Baek Byung-yeul

However, Park, the director, said his film is actually a toned-down version of the real conditions he witnessed in fishing villages.

"I researched people living in fishing villages while writing and filming this movie. I think what I showed in the film might be a more subdued version of the reality I felt there. The reality is far more serious," the director said.

Nevertheless, what gives this film its powerful sense of realism is the performance of 75-year-old veteran actor Yoon. He portrays, with remarkable subtlety, an old captain who goes fishing every day while carrying the deep pain of losing his daughter, who had longed to escape the confines of the fishing village.

Jung Han-seok, a programmer of BIFF, praised Yoon's acting, saying, "Park Ri-woong's discovery of Yoon Joo-sang is as fresh as Bong Joon-ho's discovery of Byun Hee-bong."

"I acted to show old captain Yeong-gook's daily life like a documentary. I thought about what Yeong-gook's goals might be and I think this character is just living life. Even now, if you go to any fishing village on the east coast, you might find an old captain like him, not fully recovered from yesterday's drinking, but still going about his daily routine," Yoon said.

Actors Yang Hee-kyung, left, and Khazsak in a scene from "The Land of Morning Calm" / Courtesy of Triple Pictures

Yang, another veteran actor, portrayed the young fisherman's mother, embodying a familiar maternal figure seen throughout Korea. The director shared that he only considered Yang for the role, and she expertly brought to life a character who was both warm and resilient, capturing the essence of a mother's love and strength.

"I played a mother who lives trusting her only son. I played a mother you can see anywhere, who laughs when her son laughs and cries when her son cries," Yang said.

She added that not only young people but also older people might find enjoyment in comparing their own reality through this film.

"The Land of Morning Calm" will be hit local theaters on Nov. 27.